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Review: Wildstar

Oh Wildstar… what have you done to me?

I’m a gamer. What kind you ask? Oh… PC, MMO, Console, RPG, tabletop, LARP, and yes even board games and card games. Ahhh Friday night Cards Against Humanity. My favority factions and roles in games are always the villains. I play evil really well and I’m always a healer. However, for some reason, we have declared Exiles, the good guys, and my primary isn’t a healer…

*GASP*

I know. I know. I’ll be missed on the dark side. The Exiles had better cookies. Yum.

Anyways, how did they manage to convert me? I could give you the science and math, but I’m not that kind of player. I like to just dive in and learn as I go… and take direction from my team. I guess I have a little Chua in me. It’s a shame I won’t be playing one of those when the game goes live. Strategically speaking, our house chose to play Dominion so that we could experience what we’ll otherwise we’ll missing once the game goes live. In addition to that, it keeps the primary content that we’ll be playing, new for when we’re ready to get serious. We’ve been having a blast in the beta! We’ve experimented and even tried out the classes that we weren’t interrested in. Turns out, we liked them after all and didn’t like classes we thought we would. There were combinations of race, class, and path that were surprising. We would play up to level 10 to give it a fair chance and get a feel for it. Most of the time, we would stop at level 14 and trade out a toon. It was pretty fun!

I played the medic first, because that’s what I do. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it. It’s that when we switched out toons to try another combination, I found that I had a lot more fun eating peoples faces with my Stalker Soldier. Now, at first I hated the Settler and the Explorer paths. I didn’t like that I could only build in certain spots. I realized after a while that I didn’t give the settler a fair chance, and have since changed my mind. The Settler path is pretty cool actually. I still don’t like the Explorer because I hate the jumping puzzles. However, I do plan to try it again on an alt in order to see what else it has to offer. The Soldier was surprisingly fun because it was part DESTROY THEM ALL *maniacal laughter* and part other things when you need a break from killing things. I liked that… a lot. Scientist is great, but I’m super obsessive and MUST GET EVERYTHING! My team mates get annoyed with my incessant need to scan everything. I really do blame that on the Chua.

So my partner and I loved the idea of a Spellslinger, so he played that one first, while I played my medic. Turns out, he didn’t like it. At first, I was disappointed and didn’t try it. I value my team mates opinions… but eventually, in the name of science, I did try it. I LOVE the Spellslinger! I love running around, shooting things up, and guess what? I can actually heal! I still don’t see myself as a “healer” but it’s great that I can still heal. There was an area filled with birds (that remind me of a cross between a chocobo and a raptor) and I went on a killing spree. By the time my partner got online, I’d dinged twice (*ahem* leveled). He glared at me, “Stop doing that! We’re supposed to be questing together!”

“I didn’t quest! I just went on a killing spree…. sorry.”

“Okay, new rule! We go on killing sprees together!”

“I’m glad you said that, becuase I also went across the water and found giant robots.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Sweet! Let’s do this!”

Okay, I’m getting distracted again. For the record, we got our asses kicked and it was a fucking blast. I will definitely do that again. Yay randomness. I love how there are is so much random moments of WTF. Like the time my partner said “I found the perfect mount for you. A hamster ball.” I was playing a Chua. That was funny. I also went on a surprise bird race (I forget what the Raptor Chocobo’s are called). I had to do that race about 5 times before I won it. It wasn’t that hard, I was just dwelling in nonsense while my partner was busy doing some trade skill stuff. I’ve done cooking so far and that’s it, on that topic. I haven’t really made time to try out other skills.

So, how exactly did I get lured into playing something other than a healer? Pure hilarity and awesomeness. Otherwise known as, I don’t know but it was a pleasant surprise. It just happened. Maybe it’s the way they built the classes. I can do what I ultimatley am familiar with and love, and do more and broaden my horizons. I am torn between playing a Spellslinger Soldier, Spellslinger Scientist, or Spellslinger Settler. Let’s be realistic… the scientist path will slow me down, so maybe that will have to be on my alt – a Stalker scientist? It sounds crazy, but it works! You gotta be able to protect yourself while excavating, right? I could do a Stalker Soldier for an alt, that was pretty fun too. Esper Settlers are good too. So many fun things to choose from!

Now, what about the choice to go good after all the fun we’ve been having in the Dominion? Story! The reason we’ve always played the bad guys is because the story was amazing! Good guys are often kind of bland. However, the Exiles are chock-full of motivation. They are the underdogs fighting for a home. I love that! It has that Firefly feel that we love. I love the humor and the telegraphs, and I can’t wait to start playing Exile.